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Saturday morning, investigators closed off the parking lot of a 7-11 store at South Avenue and Valley Drive, where a 70-year-old man was assaulted early Saturday by a group of young men.
(David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com)

Early Saturday, James Gifford followed his daily routine. On a warm September morning, he took a walk from his Syracuse home to the nearby 7-Eleven store, at the crossroads of South Avenue, Valley Drive and Glenwood Avenue, in the city's Elmwood neighborhood.

Gifford, 70, is a regular there, according to Sgt. Thomas Connellan of the Syracuse police. He purchased a soda, some doughnuts, a newspaper and a can of soup, Connellan said. Then Gifford walked outside and began crossing the store parking lot on his way home.

At 6:08 a.m., about 45 minutes before sunrise, he was approached by a group of "five or six" young men, believed to be in their 20s, Connellan said. Two of them attacked Gifford and repeatedly kicked and struck him, according to police. The men injured Gifford, then left him on the pavement in the parking lot, Connellan said.

Several people driving past witnessed the assault and called 911, Connellan said. He said Gifford was transported to Upstate University Hospital, where he remains in serious condition.

Police and 7-Eleven store officials are cooperating about viewing any surveillance video of the parking lot, Connellan said. He said police believe some passers-by may have stopped to help Gifford and left when - or just before - investigators arrived. Connellan appealed for anyone who witnessed the attack, or stopped just afterward, to call police at 442-5222.

Police closed off the store parking lot for most of Saturday morning, although the store reopened by early Saturday afternoon. Staff at the store declined comment.

Connellan described Gifford as "an innocent victim" who was assaulted in "an unprovoked way," and he said it remains uncertain whether Gifford was robbed by his assailants.

It is too early, Connellan said, to determine whether the attack was another instance of "the knockout game," the name given to a nationwide sequence of anonymous attacks in which pedestrians are attacked for no reason.